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Covering the world of social mediaCopyright 2015Tue, 31 Mar 2015 22:30:24 +0000http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1FullyFollow Lets Folks Follow You Across Social Networks Using One URLEver wish for a simple way to attract followers, fans and connections to your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn?

Your wish has been granted, courtesy of FullyFollow.me.

What is Fully Follow? It’s “a social networking tool to connect your social profiles together into a single URL that is simple to share with others.”

See how easy that is? You direct people to one link and they can follow you on three different platforms.

It removes the hassle of tracking down a new contact across many sites and packages it into one easy button. The tool helps individuals and brands get more followers across more services, quickly and easily.

For your weekend reading pleasure, here are the most popular AppNewser headlines of the week, including our blog’s expansion, a new Moleskine partnership and a fake iPhone 5 commercial (video embedded above).

]]>Nadine Cheunghttp://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/social-media-jobs-imagination-cotton-aruba-networks/105142#disqus_thread
Nadine Cheung
http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/social-media-jobs-imagination-cotton-aruba-networks/105142
http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/?p=104137Fri, 31 Aug 2012 21:08:28 +0000Games Connect To Facebook Users Through New Notifications APIIf you’re a Facebook gamer, you’ll probably start to see more notifications at the top of your page. That’s because the site announced Friday that it launched a new application programming interface (API) that allows game developers to push notifications to players when friends challenge them to a game or beat their high score.

However, noted that with great power comes great responsibility. Developers should be wary of sending too many notifications and risk annoying gamers, who can remove themselves from from this service by clicking on the X in the top right corner of the notification:

You can send notifications to your users without requesting additional permissions. However, people are in control of the notifications they receive. The first few times people see notifications from your app they may accept or decline them. They may also choose to opt-out at any time.

These changes also allow developers to monitor the success of the notifications, and see which ones motivated game players to go back to the app. Zhang claims that gamers who received high-quality notifications were five to ten times more likely to click on them. Naturally, people who received low-quality notifications were more likely to block the app or turn off the notifications from that game.

Where’s the similarity? #RomneyRyan2012 was a promoted trend last night – and promoted trends are not cheap.

Buying a promoted trend isn’t shady, of course – it’s smart. And according to Clickz, the Romney campaign was pretty proud of the “ad” buy:

“To trend for a day is a far more significant investment in resources,” than other Twitter ad buys like Promoted Tweets and Promoted Accounts, said Moffatt. The Promoted Trend has been known to cost as much as $120,000 a day. Moffatt said the campaign is not paying more than $120,000 for the ad but would not say exactly how much it would cost.

@MexicanMitt is a pretty popular parody account – and it was suspended last night just before Romney gave his speech (times are PT):

Why was it suspended? The account owner was baffled – as the chain below demonstrates. The account owner tells us this the first time the account has been suspended and it has been active since January 2012.

Okay, so what – someone made a mistake or maybe the account really seemed to be attempting to fool readers into thinking it was Romney . . . wearing a sombrero and calling himself Mexican Mitt. No. Just, no.

And beyond that? Only affected parties can report violations. So someone from Mitt Romney’s campaign really believed that this account was someone pretending to BE Mitt Romney? And that readers would think this was Mitt?

And what on earth could these representatives have said to Twitter to make this case? And why wouldn’t Twitter then say: “Come on, really?”

]]>Mary C. Longhttp://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/suspends-romneyparody/469322#disqus_thread
Mary C. Long
http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/suspends-romneyparody/469322
http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/?p=27838Fri, 31 Aug 2012 19:40:49 +0000Social games news roundup: Kabam’s making more money away from Facebook, Square Enix is delivering great games to your browser and Amazon’s Appstore comes to EuropeNot even 30 percent of Kabam’s money comes from Facebook — Speaking to GamesBeat, Kabam CEO Kevin Chou revealed that between Kingdoms of Camelot: Battle for the North being such a huge hit on the iPhone and its income on Kabam.com, less than 30 percent of the company’s revenue comes from Facebook.

Square Enix’s new service delivers HD games to browsers — Square Enix this week announced Core Online, a new technology service designed to let users play HD console quality games on their web browsers. The system supports Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer and also allows free content to be supported by video advertisements (which users can skip by purchasing levels or games).

Amazon Appstore invades Europe — Amazon’s Appstore for Android arrived in Europe this week, allowing customers in Germany, Fance, Italy and Spain to purchase apps for their Android phones and tablets. Amazon tells us European customers will have access to localized content and mobile stores for their specific countries, the popular “Free App of the Day” and personalized recommendations.

Rovio rumored to working on Angry Birds spin-off — Uber Gizmo is reporting that the next game out from Rovio is going to be an Angry Birds spin-off called “Bad Piggies.” The developer already set up a Facebook page devoted to the pigs from Angry Birds and features a vague press release written by the green-colored swine.

Over 60 percent of Japanese social gamers regret in-app purchases — Nearly two-thirds of Japanese social game players say they regret spending money on virtual goods in their games, according to a recent survey conducted by FastAsk. However, nearly 70 percent of these players say their spending habits haven’t changed since the government forced developers to eliminate kompu gacha tactics from their games earlier this year.

Pharmaceutical company gets in on the social game scene [Launch] — Pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim is launching a Facebook game called Syrum. Players run a pharmaceutical company and will need to develop drugs and conduct clinical trials. The game already has a website, but isn’t set to launch until September.

Amazon mobile apps now available in Europe — Amazon sent an email to its mobile app developer community announcing that Amazon mobile apps may now be distributed in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. The international expansion includes the in-app purchasing API, free app of the day and 1-click purchasing.

Glu Mobile releases Blood & Glory: Legend — The sequel to mobile game Blood & Glory features a new story, improved visuals and leaderboards. It can be downloaded for free from iTunes and Google Play.

Tylted releases Obama vs. Romney boxing game — Tylted’s camPAIN 2012 is an arcade-style boxing game inspired by Nintendo’s classic Punch Out! starring President Barak Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. The game uses HTML5 and can be played on any web-enabled mobile device.

Red Robot Labs announces its upcoming location-based fantasy game, Life Is Magic — The Android and iOS platforms game intertwines 3D real-world locations with rapidly evolving social gameplay as players compete to become the most influential wizard in the world.

Magisto jumps to Android — Mobile video editing app Magisto is now available on Android, reports TechCrunch. The service has already racked up a million users on iOS, who have collectively edited more than 7 million videos.

Nexus7 now available in France, Germany and Spain — Google’s popular Nexus 7 Android tablet is now available in France, Germany and Spain. The tablet costs the same in Euro as it does in U.S. dollars — €199 for the 8GB model and €249 for 16GB model.

Capcom has no objections to iOS — Capcom has announced it will bring its beloved Ace Attorney series to iOS. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy HD is scheduled for a fall release, and will include the DS games Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Justice for All, and Trials and Tribulations, reports The Verge. The app will be free-to-download, with the games themselves unlocked via in-app purchase.

[Release] Bastion heads to iOS — Xbox Live indie hit Bastion has made the jump to iOS. The new iPad version game costs $4.99 and supports the new iPad’s Retina display and Apple’s Game Center.

[Release] Social Point, Glu testing out new games in Canadian App store — Social Point and Glu Mobile are both using the Canadian App Store to test upcoming releases according to IMA tipster Thomas Pagot. Social Point’s mid-core game Social Empires is currently available to Canadian gamers. As the company promised, the new iOS version connects to the Facebook version. Meanwhile Glu Mobile is testing out three titles: Contract Killer 2, the hack and slash title Death Dome and collectible card-battle game Forge & Fortune.

[Funding] NoWait nets $2 million — Restaurant waitlist management service NoWait has raised a $2 million round of Series A funding reports TechCrunch. The company’s digital waitlists support SMS text messaging and run through an iOS app. The round was lead by Birchmere Ventures with participation from Sand Hill Angels.

AT&T retail stores to sell Square card readers — Mobile payments company Square announced a partnership with AT&T which will make the card readers available in more than a 1,000 AT&T owned retail locations. The readers are priced at $9.99.

WhatRunsWhere acquires Mobile Ad Spy — Ad intelligence service provider WhatRunsWhere builds up its mobile presence by acquiring Mobile Ad Spy, a UK-based company which offers a similar service but with a focus on mobile. The details of the deal have not been revealed.

HP release first Open WebOS beta – The Linux based mobile operating system HP took ownership of when it acquired Palm is now available as opensource. The 450,000 lines of code are released under the liberal Apache 2.0 license.

]]>Emanuel Maiberghttp://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/mobile-app-news-roundup-amazon-phoenix-wright-ace-attorney-square-and-att/530373#disqus_thread
Emanuel Maiberg
http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/mobile-app-news-roundup-amazon-phoenix-wright-ace-attorney-square-and-att/530373
http://www.insidemobileapps.com/?p=25004Fri, 31 Aug 2012 22:00:17 +0000Watch The 2012 London Summer Paralympics Live Now On YouTubeHave you been feeling as though something is missing in your life since the Olympics ended? Well, the 2012 London Summer Paralympics kicked off on Wednesday so over the long weekend you can get back into the swing of international competition. Not sure where to watch? Lucky for you, YouTube is streaming the Paralympics Games live.

Tommy O’Hare, Sports Content Manager at YouTube, writes, “Whether your favorite sport is powerlifting, sitting volleyball or wheelchair basketball, you can catch all the action on the International Paralympic Committee’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/paralympicsporttv. The channel will feature 500 hours of live competitions accompanied by a real-time commenting feature for viewers in the United States and Canada. Additionally, others around the world have access to over 1000 hours of on-demand catch-up footage of current and previous games, interviews with Paralympic athletes and other behind-the-scenes footage.”

When you head over to the Paralympic Committee’s channel on YouTube you’ll be able to browse a selection of events that are ‘Live now’ or watch ‘Completed’ events. One of the most anticipated events will be “Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius’ 100 meter race against John Peacock and Jerome Singleton on September 6. Earlier this month, Pistorius became the first double leg amputee to participate in the Olympics.

Check out Wednesday night’s Opening Ceremony below or head over to YouTube to see what’s happening live at the Paralympics right now.

Megan O’Neill is the resident web video enthusiast here at Social Times. Megan covers everything from the latest viral videos to online video news and tips, and has a passion for bizarre, original and revolutionary content and ideas.

]]>Megan O'Neillhttp://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/paralympics-live-youtube/105156#disqus_thread
Megan O'Neill
http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/paralympics-live-youtube/105156
http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/?p=104151Fri, 31 Aug 2012 18:49:59 +0000Facebook Stock Dips To Below Half Of IPO ValueJust when it seemed as if news could not get any worse for Facebook’s Wall Street standing, the value of the company’s shares dipped Friday to less than half of its $38 opening price. The company’s stock opened at a slipped-down price today from pre-market trading and has continued its downward slope to a share price of just over $18.

The next big date for investors is Oct. 15, when Facebook directors and employees other than Co-Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg can sell their stock. On Nov. 14, Zuckerberg, as well as more venture capitalists and insiders, will be able to sell.

In Catch 22 a small green sphere spins around the surface of a \"planet.\" The player clicks (or taps) the screen to make the green sphere jump to collect yellow pickups and avoid another blue sphere that orbits the planet in the oncoming direction. When you collect a set of yellow pickups you take control of the blue sphere, which you must then maneuver to avoid the path of the green sphere you’ve just set. Collect another set of yellow pickups and the tables turn again; now you’re controlling the green sphere again, avoiding the path of the blue sphere which was avoiding the first path of the green sphere. And so on, ad infinitum, or until the spheres crash into each other, which will happen early and often.

If the above description seems a little disorienting it’s because that’s what playing Catch 22 feels like. It’s like trying to pat your head and rub your belly at the same time, but in a good way.

When it’s released on Facebook and the Apple App Store on September 1, Catch 22 will have gone through only four months of development, a very short period of time even when compared with other small, independent games. Even more impressive is that much of Catch 22 was developed in a mere 48 hours by four people, Roel Bartstra, Marlon Etheredge, Sander Brattinga (no longer with the team) and Guus Hoeve, who together formed Mango Down!

The three amateur Dutch developers got together for the Global Game Jam 2012 in Amsterdam. A video featuring developers like Will Wright and John Romero kicked off the competition and introduced its theme: uruburos, the ancient symbol of a serpent eating its own tail. \"It made us want to make a game in which you’re playing against yourself, where you were actually making it harder for yourself,\" Hoeve told us in an interview.

Etheredge, Hoeve and Barstra had the basic concept down by the time they got back to their hotel room. 48 sleepless hours later they had a game and a prize to go along with it.

\"It was the biggest surprise ever for us. We were completely beat and glad that the game was finished but for us it was a nice game, nothing more. In the weeks after when we showed the game to the public we got really good responses. We started to realize that the game is actually good. It’s really minimalistic. We realized that it can be made for any type of device, especially mobile devices because you want to play it in short bursts. We started to realize that there’s some business in it as well.\"

Catch 22 is not the kind of game we expect to see on Facebook, and the developers who made it are not the types who play Facebook games. For Hoeve, for example, Facebook is just about the only platform he doesn’t play games on. \"I played Mafia Wars for a bit. I thought that was a really funny to do. That’s about it, to be honest.\"

But Hoeve also sees the untapped potential. \"I think social games shouldn’t revolve around building cities, I think that it should be about playing together. That’s what Facebook actually says: ‘playing is a lot better with friends.’ And I think this game can be played by literally anyone. If you’re three years old or 90, there’s no target demographic. The game is really calm and serene, and the only thing that frustrates the player is the player himself. I think that concept is suitable for everyone. We really think everyone should be able to play the game for free. Not everybody has a smartphone, but everybody has internet these days. You’ll be able to play against your friends on Facebook if they don’t own a smartphone.\"

Hoeve also thinks that Catch 22 is well suited for Facebook because it benefits from friendly competition, something they plan to encourage with online leaderboards.

Another reason Mango Down! is bringing Catch 22 to Facebook is that it will take relatively little effort. It was difficult to port the game to the iPhone because the standalone PC version relies on visual effects that are simply not possible on mobile devices, but once that transition was made it was easier create a Facebook version. \"We actually made the mobile version the same as the Facebook version so anyone with a really crappy PC or Mac can still play the game in his browser. The Facebook and mobile version will be practically the same.\"

Why don’t more independent developers try to bring their games to Facebook? It seems like an easy way for a developer to distinguish itself in two crowded markets; Catch 22 can become a very visible and easily accessible indie game by releasing on the most populist platform out there, and it also easily differentiates itself from the glut of Facebook games by virtue of not being another city building or farming sim.

\"Your audience is key as an indie developer to get your game viral,\" Hoeve said. \"Facebook lets us integrate the best of both worlds; being a game platform and the social giant we need, and all that from within the same browser window. Sharing our game, liking our game and inviting your friends to play is just a few clicks away without leaving the site or the game. And you don’t have to have an iOS or Android device to play it, so that means you can play with everyone, everywhere.\"

\"The key difference is that we don’t see Facebook as direct sales, but indirect. Therefore the game is available for free and doesn’t require a business model behind it to generate sales inside of Facebook (except ads, but that’s a bonus, not a primary source of income). The Facebook version is meant to traffic people to the paid version.\"